Just last week, I finished my Youth Parliament tenure! Every three years, the Ministry of Youth Development hosts the Youth Parliament, a programme in which students from all over the country have the opportunity to learn about the political process and issues that shape their lives and futures. Each of the 123 MPs chooses a Youth MP to represent them and their electorate, and a panel selects 20 people aged 16-24 to be members of the Youth Press Gallery. This year, I had the privilege of being selected for the Youth Press Gallery. The application process involved sending a portfolio of my work, a CV of my community involvement, and writing an opinion piece.
Throughout my four-month tenure, we had several insightful online meetings with a range of organisations and people within the political landscape in Aotearoa, including the Electoral Commission, the Ombudsman, and political journalists from RNZ.
The tenure also included a three-day trip to the Parliament building in Wellington, during the recent school holidays. On the first day, we were given tours of the Parliament precinct and the National Library of New Zealand. Over the following two days, we immersed ourselves in the environment of politics. This included watching and reporting on general debate speeches, being mentored by Jason Walls, chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, and working in our Parliamentary Working Groups (PWG). This year, each participant was allocated to one of twelve PWGs of their choice, each focusing on a specific issue faced by young people. I was assigned to the Online Safety group, in which we worked with the Ministry of Justice to discuss potential recommendations and solutions to the issue (eg, increased education on online safety in schools), and also spoke with MP Catherine Wedd, who put forward the bill to potentially ban social media for under-16s. Some other highlights of this event were interviewing the Minister of Youth Development, meeting the Prime-Minister, and the parliament catering! Since then, I have also had articles published in the Ministry of Youth Development’s website and the Independent Herald.
To anyone interested in community involvement and shaping policy, I highly recommend considering Youth Parliament, as it is truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity. Beyond the skills I’ve gained in civics and community change, the experience also allowed me to meet and become friends with some really amazing people.
By Aman Khalid, 13HBH